Food
How to prepare a Winter Feast
There’s so much to love about an Australian winter – cosy comforts, evenings by the fire and warm, hearty dishes enjoyed with premium Aussie wines. A sumptuous meal and your favourite wines shared with others is the perfect accompaniment to winter. So, style your setting and prepare to feast well this season, because we’ve got the low down on how to put together a feast to be proud of (and the wines to match)!
Our latest winter catalogue, Cosy Comforts, is out now. You’ll find a huge range of collections that are fantastic value and filled with food-friendly expressions, just like our Winter Feast dozens. Available in mixed, red and white dozens, these selections deliver a delicious diversity of wines, ensuring you’re covered whatever your feasting plans are.
Shop Winter Feasts
With just a little forward planning and preparation for your winter gathering, you’ll soon be ready to indulge in a night of sumptuous food and delicious wines, creating great memories with your loved ones.
Indulge in Winter Feasts with friends
How to prepare the perfect Winter feast
Yes, it might be cold outside, but that’s no excuse to curb your social plans. Winter is the perfect time to gather family and friends together for a glorious feast!
When matching wine to your winter feasts, you need to first decide on the dishes you’ll be serving and choose wines to complement them. From warming winter soups to hearty casseroles and pasta dishes, flavoursome curries, rich grilled meats and decadent desserts, there are plenty of delicious options for a winter feast and many mouth-watering varieties of wine to suit.
Here's some simple tips on how to prepare an amazing winter feast
1. Grocery shop the day before to be prepared – it will save you ducking out on the day and will help maximise preparation time on the day and avoid last-minute stress.
2. Prepare your meats for the main dish or dishes – you might need to marinate meat the night before, baste a roast or season prior to cooking.
3. Prepare a warm fire – whether your feast is taking place indoors or outdoors, an interior fireplace or an alfresco fire pit will create a beautiful atmosphere (and add extra warmth) that your guests are sure to appreciate.
4. Invite family and friends – stipulate if they need to bring anything.
5. Decide on pre-dinner drinks – will you serve delicious Australia Sparkling with nibbles? It’s great for any time of the year and creates a joyful atmosphere.
6. Table setting – style your table including placemats, centrepieces, candles, cutlery and glassware, suiting it to the meals and wines that you’ll be serving.
7. Don’t forget the wine! The Winter Feast collection from our Cosy Comforts Winter Catalogue is a great choice, giving you plenty of delicious options.
Classic dishes for a Winter feast
So, what dishes are good for a winter feast? While there’s no right or wrong (everyone’s taste is individual), dishes that suit the season of winter tend to be hearty, flavourful, comforting and warming. Read some tips on food and wine pairing.
Here are some of our favourite winter dishes paired with wines from our Winter Feast collection.
Flavoursome antipasto, like this delicious bruschetta, is a great choice to kick off your winter feast. Elements can be pre-prepared, saving you time, and the bruschetta is simple to assemble. There’s also no need for cutlery, so your guests can enjoy this dish while mingling at the beginning of the night. This versatile Rosé from the Yarra Valley is a fresh and juicy wine, pairing well with the chargrilled flavours of the bruschetta toppings.
Wine match: Glenguin Vineyard Semillon 2017
Warming curry dishes are perfect for a winter feast, and this delicious crab and coconut curry ticks all the boxes. Deeply flavoured with a thick, creamy sauce, it’s a decadent dish to serve guests and is complemented beautifully with an opulent aged Semillon, like the 2017 Glenguin expression from our Winter Feast collection.
Wine match: Vandenberg King Willem II Shiraz Cabernet 2019
A super satisfying part of grilled and barbequed food is the depth of flavour that can be infused through marinating or directly applying herbs, spices and rubs when cooking. This mouth-watering lemongrass chicken dish has oodles of flavour and looks great presented on large platters, making it ideal for a gathering or banquet. The Vandenberg King Willem II is a classic Aussie red blend of Shiraz and Cabernet that’s full-bodied and velvety, making it a go-to for grilled or barbequed dishes like this one.
A delicious vegetarian option for your winter feast that’s both tasty and satisfying is this mouth-watering pasta dish – it also happens to look fantastic too! The fresh green and textural elements of the dish pair well with vibrant, zesty wines like this stunning Amadio Sauvignon Blanc.
Wine match: Matilda's Ghost Chardonnay 2017
Everyone loves a warming, comforting pie in winter – they are tasty, great for sharing and sure to be an aesthetically pleasing addition to your winter feast. Richer white styles, like the flavoursome and juicy Matilda’s Ghost Chardonnay, are perfect with comfort food and baked pastry dishes, so are a great choice with this dish.
Wine match: Trimboli Family Wines Saverio Family Selection Saperavi 2021
Slow-cooked lamb dishes and winter go together like campfires and marshmallows – they’re just made for each other! This decadent lamb shoulder and truffle mash dish is rich is flavour and sure to satisfy your guests’ hunger. Saperavi, a varietal from Georgia (a country formerly of the Soviet Union), tends to be rich, full-bodied and quite tannic, so it balances the richness of fattier cuts of meat and is an ideal pairing for this deeply flavoured lamb dish.
Feeling inspired? Check out our Winter wine and food pairings article for more great recipes.
Winter Feast Dozens
Our Winter Feast collections from our Winter Catalogue (out now) are a mixed, red and white dozen brimming with mouth-watering expressions that are super food friendly. From aromatic Riesling, refined Chardonnay and vibrant Rosé to rich Cabernet Merlot and dangerously moreish Saperavi, you’ll find the perfect pairing for your warming winter gatherings. Great value at only $18 a bottle, you’ll also receive a BONUS bottle of wine and a FREE recipe guide, so you’ll have plenty of ideas on what to serve at your own winter feast!